Peruse Peru like a local

Witness the dizzying scenery, soaring condors and the terraced crops of the locals.

The colourful Andean Colca Valley has pre-Inca roots, and towns founded 1500 years ago in Spanish colonial times are still inhabited by people of the Collagua and Cabana cultures.

They maintain ancestral traditions and cultivate the pre-Inca stepped terraces, one of the world’s most intensely terraced landscapes.

Most tourists head to Machu Picchu or Lake Titicaca, so the Intrepid Travel off-the-beaten-track tour Jules joined was blissfully non-touristy. Roads have been improved to make the Canyon easily accessible.

The tour was all about scenery, wildlife and spotting the giant Andean condor. They are the largest flying land birds in the western hemisphere with wingspans measuring up to 3.2 metres.